kevin,

i have to disagree about hearing vacuum leaks. my relays were bad and you cou not hear the leaks. besides the diagram, print out the step by step instructions on how to test the system. a vacuum pump is strongly suggested to test. with my 75, if i hooked up one light at a time to a vacuum source, it would work but there is a tee coming off the tank to the relays and when hooking them up the way they were supposed to be they wouldn't work.

after going bonkers i found that site (thru someone on this great site) and went step by step and it turned out one of the relays were bad. it may take more time but go thru all the steps of his guide this way you might not overlook a small thing out of place. also if i remember correctly there will be a tee connection on the firewall side as there is vacuum going into the dash board.

eddie,

[QUOTE=eddie20875]...i have to disagree about hearing vacuum leaks. my relays were bad and you cou not hear the leaks.... [/QUOTE]

A quick note about the vacuum relays: I bought a pair a few years back from the local specialty Corvette restoration shop. The metal tops seemed to be properly anodized and their installation solved my lazy-light problem. HOWEVER, after less than a year the problem recurred and my lights failed completely. I flopped around checking lines etc. for a half hour before I botheres to look at the vacuum relay tops. One crumbled to pieces when I stuck my finger on it and the other had rust almost all the way through. I took them back to show the dealer and he said I must've spilled some acid on them or something. He was full of crap. The anodizing was bad and they rusted right out. Needless to say, I don't buy anything from him anymore. But here's the tip: When you buy new ones, plug the vacuum holes and then put several coats of clear lacquer on the metal cap before you install them. I've checked mine ever since and they don't show a bit of corrosion. The O-rings will wear out now, but that steel cap will still look like new. BTW, a couple of drops of superglue to hold the foam pad in place on the bottom exhaust port might be a good idea too. 

Thanks for the heads up on the vacuum relays. Sorry you had to learn the hard way but the solution you found sounds smart.

Unless the car is a Bloomington Gold candidate, put in electric motors for the headlights.  See mcspeed.homestead.com and click on killer lights.  I have them in my 73 and they always open and close quickly and together.  You won't spend any more than you will chasing a vacuum leak.  The only hard part is finding the motors.  My 2 cents.

The best thing I have found is from Doc Rebuild. It's a laminated sheet that has all the hose routing and fittings and everything is color coded for size etc. of the complete vacume system. They are year specific and you can take it in the garage and lay it right on the car when working. They also have these for the electrical system. I buy a lot of stuff from several catalogs, but I think Doc Rebuild is the best for hoses. A new vacume hose set is about $100.00. They are all correct right down to the colored stripes.

Interesting concept. Looks like it'd cost about 800 to 1000 bucks. Started me thinking. Seems like you could do much the same with an old 12V dish actuator (screw type), a couple of micro-switches, and a parallel linkage.

KOPBET2007-12-02 09:16:41

We had snow today. So my plan of comparing my '79 to another one right down the street is on hold.